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Romney’s Victory Speech

By Andrew Rosenthal April 25, 2012 1:08 pmApril 25, 2012 1:08 pm

In his victory speech in New Hampshire last night, Mitt Romney mentioned the strains on working people who were hit hardest by the recession and have not seen anything like the recovery enjoyed by wealthy people – like Mitt Romney.

He mentioned President Obama, too, blaming him for that dire situation. “The last fear years have been the best that Barack Obama can do, but that’s not the best America can do,” Mr. Romney said. “Tonight is the beginning of the end of the disappointment of the Obama years, and the start of a new and better chapter that we will write together.”
He did not mention the Republican Party, which holds more responsibility for the nation’s economic sluggishness than Mr. Obama.

Mr. Romney said that in 2008, “Barack Obama dazzled us in front of Greek columns with sweeping promises of hope and change.” (What exactly is wrong with Greek columns? The White House, Congress and Boston are filled with them.) And then, he said, “We came down to earth.”

We sure did. As soon as Mr. Obama took office, the Republican Party announced its intention to destroy the new president by denying him everything he wanted. Mr. Obama tried to appease the opposition by making damaging compromises, but this strategy failed. The obstruction only worsened, especially after the Republicans won control of the house in 2010.

The Republicans insisted on extending the Bush tax cuts on the nation’s highest earners, which were a major factor in taking the government from a budget surplus in 2000 to huge deficits by the time George W. Bush left office. And they will insist on repeating mistake again this year. They forced cuts in Mr. Obama’s stimulus package, which was already too small.

They argued against extending unemployment benefits, which are not only a direct economic stimulus, but help the very Americans—the working people—that Mr. Romney says he cares so much about. And they ginned up a phony emergency over the growth of the national debt, using it to compel budget cuts that are not only too big, but are directed at programs that, again, help the very Americans Mr. Romney says he cares so much about.

Mr. Romney promised he would “stop the unfairness of politicians giving taxpayer money to their friends’ businesses”—a reference, I guess, to so-called earmarks. Apart from the fact that ending earmarks won’t fix the deficit or spur recovery, Mr. Romney seems to have missed the news, reported by Politico, that 65 House Republican want to “bring back a certain type of earmark so that they can help companies back home in an election year.”

Not only did Mr. Romney try to blame the president for all of the country’s ills, he also drew a completely false distinction between his view of government and Mr. Obama’s. “Government is at the center of his vision,” Mr. Romney said. “It dispenses the benefits, borrows what it cannot take, and consumes a greater and greater share of the economy.” He added, “He’s asking us to accept that Washington knows best, and can provide all.”

The actual President Obama, as opposed to Mr. Romney’s mythical socialist, has repeatedly outlined a vision of government that does for ordinary people what they cannot do for themselves, not one that makes all of their decisions for them.

If Mr. Romney wins, the government will not magically stop borrowing what it cannot take. The government cannot function otherwise—especially if Mr. Romney’s party continues to demand unfairly low tax rates for the richest Americans.